grad goal statement

Growing up in Kansas, I was born and raised to be a Jayhawk. Visiting my sisters while they attended at the University of Kansas has always been some of the fondest memories I have and that’s why it was so easy to choose KU. Throughout the years I spent at KU, I have learned many life lessons that have prepared me for my future in education. While attaining my undergraduate degree I was president of my sorority. This experience allowed me to grow in a leadership position and manage an entire chapter locally and nationally. Once I realized the potential I had, I branched out and became a member of the Kansas Council of Social Studies. This educational organization focuses on the promotion of social studies and professional development for future educators. I am currently the president of KUCSS and we have been selected to present two of our notable achievements at the National Council for Social Studies Convention at the end of November to hundreds of social studies teachers across America. I am in my senior year of college and will graduate in May with a degree in Secondary History and Government Education, a History minor, and an endorsement in Special Education. When deciding to go into the education field, special education was always the direction I planned to go. While I think about my future goals, graduation is in the near future and I would like to receive a position in a high school as a special education teacher upon graduation with my endorsement. Through my own experiences assisting in the special education classroom at my high school, I was a part of a system that didn’t provide students with a beneficial opportunity to learn and I want to be a part of a community to change this. After spending the past year working at the Center for Research on Learning, I have learned much more about the research process and the many different advances being made in education. This has given me an entirely new outlook on where I would like to be in the future. Research is so important to education and I would like to continue studying the field of Special Education as a career. While I was in high school I enrolled in a class called Peer Tutoring. It was designed to have general education students help out in the special education classrooms for one class period a day. This was one of the most rewarding and devastating experiences I had been through thus far. The Special Education teacher was unresponsive to the students needs and the paraprofessionals were the only interaction that the students had besides the few general education students that volunteered to come in. This was heart breaking to me because I was easily able to connect with the students and help them through their daily lessons, but the teacher was not involved at all. This was the first time I had considered the field of special education. Since living in Lawrence I have spent copious amounts of time volunteering in all different levels of education. Before I chose secondary I thought I wanted to teach elementary. Every semester I volunteered through a program called Adopt-A-School and helped teachers with classroom activities, grading assignments, and organizing their room. This led me to try the high school level as well. I felt that this level was right for me and that is why I continued with this age level. I am currently in my first semester of my student teaching practicum and while I do not have any students with special needs that require an IEP team, I have a student that qualifies for a 504 plan. He has muscular dystrophy and is very smart. He is able to comprehend all the information without modifications, but lacks the motivation to do his work. Since I will begin my special education endorsement practicum experience in the spring, I am beginning to notice the differences in how students learn on a deeper level. Many students struggle connecting material in social studies classes because of large amount of information and the focus on critical thinking. While I have learned a few techniques through the endorsement class such as multiple means of representation and universal design for learning, I want to learn about more tools to provide students assistance whether they are in the general education classroom or need special services. Beginning my graduate studies in Special Education is the best path for me to follow because I wasn’t to be able to reach all students. No single student learns in the same manner as another and this program will help me to understand the different methods that reach the most students and what ways I can help them. Throughout my practicum, my cooperating teacher has expressed to me that teaching in a special education classroom for ten years has not only prepared her for teaching in a general education classroom, but also taught her about the relationships with students and how important it is to get to know each and every one. There are many different courses that the graduate program offers that will help me grow into a teaching role. The practicum experiences will be very beneficial to apply the knowledge that is taught through out the coursework. One of the courses that stands out to me is the Methods: Functional Behavioral Assessment, Positive Behavior Support and Classroom Management. This topic will help by providing useful and meaningful methods of interactions with students with disabilities. Classroom management can be a difficult task, but through the process of learning about behavioral assessments and positive behavioral support, I will learn many different ways to manage a classroom. Another important class would be the Family and Interprofessional Collaboration in Special Education. Collaboration between families and colleagues is a vital part of all areas of education. Students are much more successful in all senses when there is involvement from the different people in their lives. Through a stronger support system and guidance for the student we will see better outcomes. While being enrolled in the School of Education, I have taken three classes through the Special Education department. Dr. Suzanne Robinson taught the course in which I received my special education endorsement. Currently I am enrolled in Advanced Practices for Children with Disabilities in Middle/Secondary General Education Classroom in which Dr. Don Deshler and Dr. James Basham co-teach this class. I have worked at the Center for Research on Learning for over a year and have had the pleasure to get to know Dr. Deshler. His research and dedication to Special Education is nothing short from inspiring. For over thirty-five years he has pushed boundaries in research and is constantly adapting to changes in the education system. I have also worked with him through the eLearning Design Lab. This has introduced me to other notable professors in the Special Education department. While helping with research, Dr. Sean Smith assisted me with collecting data for research on virtual schools and the their accessibility to students with disabilities. Through this experience, I am realizing the vast changes in the education field with technology and how they will affect students with special needs. While I have worked with a few of the different professors in the Special Education department, I am excited to have the opportunity to learn from others that are researching the most up to date methods of teaching. Dr. Kathleen Lane has recently began her work as the co-director at the Center for Research on Learning, so getting to know her as an educator and the research she is doing will be a rewarding process. Research is a fundamental tool in education and through the works of the many different teams at KU and I have been inspired to seek change in our education system. Throughout all of my experiences at KU, including the different leadership roles I have had and the different levels of interaction in a classroom setting, I want to challenge myself to be the best educator I can and I believe this is through the field special education. I have chosen to apply to the online graduate program because I believe that this is the future of education. Many schools are using blended learning and virtual environments as means to interact with students, so this program will allow me experience it as a student in this field. With the many notable educators at the University of Kansas, I will receive the best education and receive a paramount of information to better my fiel